Department for Transport

Shipping: Mount's Bay

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any restrictions concerning ships anchoring in Mount's Bay, and what steps are being taken to protect fishermen’s lobster pots from damage by ships’ ground tackle.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are no restrictions concerning ships anchoring in Mount’s Bay. International freedoms permitting ships to anchor within territorial seas are protected under the UN Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Ships’ Masters are responsible for selecting safe and appropriate anchorage positions for their ships.The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is aware of the ongoing sea‑space competition issue between shipping and fisheries in Mount’s Bay. Warnings of unattended fishing pots have been placed on both nautical charts and in Admiralty Pilot books to assist Ships’ Masters with the decision where to anchor.In October 2015, the MCA facilitated a meeting between affected Mount’s Bay fishermen and the UK’s Safety of Navigation Committee, with a view to addressing the underlying problems here. This work is ongoing.

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Line

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to determine the application for the confirmation of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway byelaws.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: I regret the delay in dealing with this matter and have asked officials to bring it to a conclusion as soon as possible.

East Coast Railway Line

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 28 October (HL2621), what assessment they have made of whether the 12 unplanned closures of the East Coast Main Line in September represent an adequate level of service to the users of that line.

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans are in place to reduce the number of unplanned closures of the East Coast Main Line.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Department for Transport measures the performance of franchised train operators through a range of metrics as specified within their franchise agreements. The Office of Rail and Road monitor the performance of Network Rail. We expect all in the rail industry to work together to ensure good performance for its customers.

Railways: Lincoln

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the train service in the Lincoln area, to both London and Birmingham, is adequate to meet present needs, and what firm plans they have for developing the service along those rail corridors.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government believes that Train Operators are better placed to respond to the changing demands of their customers in the creation of train services and it is the Government’s view that timetable development is an activity that should be managed by Train Operators with minimum interference from Central Government.In 2016 we will open the competition for the East Midlands franchise, and will engage with stakeholders and run a public consultation to help specify services.From May 2019, Stagecoach Virgin have been contracted by the Department for Transport to operate 5 additional services each day between London and Lincoln.This will provide a regular service of approximately 1 train every 2 hours in each direction. Delivery of this is subject to the rail industry’s normal timetable development process and to the Office of Road and Rail granting the necessary access rights to the operator.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Darfur: Crimes against Humanity

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, during the UK's Presidency of the UN Security Council this month, they will refer reports by Radio Dabanga of crimes against humanity in Darfur to the International Criminal Court for investigation.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The situation in Darfur has already been referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the UN Security Council under UN Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005). As the prosecutor’s investigation is still ongoing, it could encompass any new allegations. However, such a decision would be for the Office of the Prosecutor of the Court to take. The UK remains a strong supporter of the ICC.

Israel: West Bank

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the destruction by Israeli forces of a water network in the northern Jordan Valley.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not raised this specific issue, the UK does raise the issue of water in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Israeli authorities, including stressing the urgent need for Israel to take immediate and practical measures to improve this unacceptable situation and ensure fair distribution of water in the West Bank and Gaza. An official from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently raised the issue of water with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 26 October.

Jerusalem

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent report from B'Tselem about the closure policy imposed in Jerusalem, what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding the new restrictions placed on Palestinians living in East Jerusalem that limit their movement.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in East Jerusalem. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.

Jerusalem: Health Services

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the urgent call from UN agencies for respect for health premises and the right to health care in Jerusalem for Palestinians after Israeli security forces stormed an East Jerusalem medical facility on 29 October.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not responded to this issue specifically, we are clear that medical staff should have the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv met Physicians for Human Rights on 9 November to discuss trends in human rights violations against medical staff. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the allegations by Abu Anan that Israeli forces fired tear gas into or directly outside a Palestinian house resulting in the death of a baby through gas inhalation.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While our officials in Tel Aviv have not raised this specific case with the Israeli authorities, we remain extremely concerned by the violence that we have seen across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr. Ellwood), said in his press statement of 13 October, “We are also concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents”.

Jerusalem: Christianity

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they made to the government of Israel concerning the right of Palestinian Christians from the West Bank to visit Jerusalem for Christmas worship.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not specifically raised the issue of access for Palestinian Christians with the Israeli authorities. However the Government remains deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement between the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It remains difficult for Palestinians, of all religions, to enter East Jerusalem for work, education, medical treatment or religious worship. Through our Embassy in Tel Aviv, we regularly lobby the Israeli authorities on this matter and encourage them to lift access restrictions.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which rebel groups in Syria are recognised and supported by the UK.

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which rebel groups in Syria are not supported by the UK.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We support several moderate opposition groups in Syria who we would want to see involved in a political process. We define these groups in terms of ideology and tactics: moderates are liberal, secular or Islamist in their political outlook, call for a wider pluralistic system that respects the rights of all Syrians and reject terrorism and terrorist tactics, for example by seeking to protect civilians from harm and to prevent abuses. Several moderate opposition groups refer to themselves as being part of the Free Syrian Army. The UK does not support designated terrorist organisations in Syria or groups who use terrorist tactics, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Jabhat al Nusra, which are designated terrorist organisations under the UN al Qaeda sanctions regime.

Syria: Foreign Relations

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contact, if any, they have had with the Assad regime in Syria over the last two months.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Since the closure of the Syrian Embassy in London in August 2012, the British Government has had only limited contact with the Assad regime in relation to consular matters. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), last wrote to the Syrian Foreign Minister in August 2015 about a consular case.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of funding allocated to Syria supports non-humanitarian work.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has delivered over £85 million in non-humanitarian support to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon since the start of the crisis, in addition to the £1.12 billion that has been allocated in humanitarian aid. This has focussed on strengthening the moderate opposition, building resilience against extremists, fostering civil society structures in besieged areas, and laying the foundations for a more peaceful and inclusive future for Syria.

Iraq: Iran

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conversations they have had with the government of Iraq about the recent attacks on Camp Liberty.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We strongly condemn the attack against the civilian residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq on Thursday 29 October. Officials from our Embassy in Baghdad raised the attack with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office on Friday 30 October and made clear the importance of an urgent and comprehensive investigation into the incident and that all those responsible are brought to justice.In all of our engagement with the Government of Iraq on this issue, including at Ministerial level and in our statements, we have emphasised the importance of the Iraqi government doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the residents of Camp Liberty. We support the UN calls for more to be done to protect the residents.

Iraq: Iran

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the situation of Iranian refugees in Camp Liberty.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We continue to engage with the Government of Iraq on the welfare of the residents of Camp Liberty. Our Embassy in Baghdad regularly raises this issue with the Government of Iraq and we support the UN calls for more to be done to protect residents, but remain of the view that the Iraqi government is responsible for security at the camp.Officials from our Embassy in Baghdad visited the camp on 28 April to assess living conditions, which the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq have judged to be well in excess of basic humanitarian standards. Trucks containing food, medicine and diesel fuel continue to routinely enter the camp.

Iraq: Iran

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they have made to allow endangered refugees in Camp Liberty to come to the UK.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In 2011 the Government of Iraq signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq which allowed the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to make assessments on applications made by the residents for relocation. The UNHCR assessment process is underway, and a number of residents have now been relocated to third countries.The UK has re-admitted four individuals from Camp Ashraf who hold valid UK travel documents. The Home Office exceptionally agreed to consider whether 52 residents of Camp Liberty previously settled in the UK, but who left many years ago, should be readmitted. Seventeen residents approved for resettlement in the UK by the Home Office are now in the UK. The UNHCR has also referred 35 further residents and a decision from the Home Office is pending.

Syria: Politics and Government

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they recognise President Bashar al-Assad as the de jure President of Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The British Government recognises nation states and not governments. Assad has forfeited his legitimacy and any plausible claim to be part of Syria’s future. A transition away from Assad, to a more inclusive government that represents all Syrians is what the 2012 Geneva communiqué envisages, and this is what we will continue to work towards.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Baroness Redfern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to workers affected by the recent job losses in the United Kingdom steel industry.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We have announced packages of support worth up to £80 million to support people who have lost their jobs in Redcar and up to £9 million, with Tata, for people who have lost their jobs in Scunthorpe. We have also established Task Forces at both locations which are making good progress under the strong leadership of Amanda Skelton and Baroness Redfern respectively. I am pleased that we have recently agreed a number of support packages worth over £40million with the Redcar taskforce which will provide financial assistance to affected workers, fund retraining, rehouse fifty apprentices and support the wider local economy and supply chain. We are working closely with the Scunthorpe taskforce on how best to target support there.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Baroness Redfern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to support the United Kingdom steel industry.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There is no straightforward solution to the complex global challenges facing the steel industry. However, the Government has been extremely active advocating for and supporting the sector. On 16th October, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State chaired a Steel Summit, which was an important opportunity to bring the key players together. Since then we have been taking action to address the key asks of the steel industry, operating through three Ministerial led working groups. We are also supporting the metals sector more widely through the industry-led Metals Strategy, which will provide a platform for Government to work with the industry on some of the most pressing issues holding back the future growth of the sector.We have taken EU and International level action on dumping and unfair trade practices. We supported and voted for the renewal of EU anti-dumping measures on wire rod and recently steel tubing and lobbied successfully for an investigation into cheap imports of Reinforcing Steel Bar. My Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State had meetings with European Commissioners and spoke to key counterparts in other Member States on 28 October, calling for firmer, faster action against unfair trade practices. As a direct result, we secured agreement for an extraordinary meeting of the EU’s Competitiveness Council which took place on 9th November. At this Member States agreed that EU level action needed to be taken to address the challenges facing the steel sector. Specifically, the Council agreed to take action to address unfair trading practices, energy costs, investment for modernisation and retraining and the regulatory burden facing the sector.The Government has confirmed to the steel industry that it will be able to take advantage of special flexibilities to comply with new EU rules on emissions.Turning to energy costs, we have announced that we will bring forward our compensation package for the industry’s additional costs from climate change policies starting as soon as state aid approval is given by the European Commission. This means that Energy intensive industries will benefit from all compensation at the very earliest opportunity. We have also confirmed that compensation and mitigation arrangements for the costs of climate change policies for Energy Intensive Industries will continue for the whole of the Parliament giving the sectors greater investment confidence. This will save Energy Intensive Industries such as steel hundreds of millions of pounds over the next five years. This will come on top of the more than £50 million we have already paid to steelmakers in compensation for energy costs.Finally, we are taking action to drive up the number of public contracts won by UK steel manufacturers and their partners through fair and open competition. The National Infrastructure Plan contains a significant number of projects which will use British steel, e.g. Crossrail – with four UK based companies providing over 50,000 tonnes of steel; and HS2 - where Government has already given notice of the thousands of tonnes of steel that will be needed. Following the first meeting of the steel procurement working group chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Government published on 30 October new guidelines for departments to apply on major projects when sourcing and buying steel. The new instructions will help steel suppliers compete on a level playing field with international suppliers for major government projects.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are investigating whether price-dumping contributed to the closure of UK steelworks.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Imports of low cost steel are one of the major challenges facing the steel industry. Formal responsibility for investigation of - and implementing measures against - dumped imports lies with the European Commission, based on complaints made to them by industry. The Government is keepingin close contact with the industry and the Commission to help ensure claims of dumping are investigated promptly and any justified measures against dumping are implemented as soon as possible.In response to global issues with over-supply we secured an emergency EU Council meeting which took place on 9th November to discussdumping and other issues affecting the steel industry.We will continue to press for firmer faster action against unfair trade practices affecting the industry.

Small Businesses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to help SMEs expand overseas.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Small businesses can find out what support is available to them by contacting their local Growth Hub. There are now 30 Growth Hubs across England that are bringing together local and national business support so that people can find the help they need quickly and easily. This includes referring on to UK Trade & Investment those businesses who want help and advice on how to exportUK Trade and Investment provides a range of support to help companies develop their capacity to export; that includes elements such as helping companies devise an export strategy, guide them on researching and selecting markets, and addressing language and culture barriers. UKTI also helps companies access international markets by organising a wide range of events and missions, supporting companies at overseas exhibitions and highlighting export opportunities.UKTI supported almost 55,000 businesses in 2014/15, around 90% of which were SMEs UK Export Finance (UKEF) also continues to support those who wish to export, including small and medium sized businesses and mid-sized businesses (MSBs)In 2014/15 UK Export Finance provided over £2.7bn of support to help 160 exporters (129 of which were smaller businesses) win overseas contracts in over 100 markets.

Recruitment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to encourage more firms to use name-blind job applications in order to counter unconscious bias.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is committed to tackling discrimination in the graduate jobs market. On 26 October the Prime Minister announced that agreement to implement name-blind applications had been reached with a range of major public and private sector graduate employers. The agreement covers some of the largest graduate employers, including the NHS, Teach First , HSBC, Deloitte, Virgin Money, KPMG, BBC, Learn direct and local Government and the Civil Service. Collectively, the organisations that have signed up to this agreement employ 1.8 million people in the UK.

EU Law

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many EU directives have been transposed into UK law without any additional material being included since the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and what percentage of the total number of directives transposed that number represents.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, in July 2011 the Government put in place its Guiding Principles for EU Legislation, which state that the Government will not go beyond the minimum requirements of the measure which is being transposed, save in exceptional circumstances. Since the Guiding Principles have applied there have been only five instances of new “gold-plating” of EU Directives that have placed additional costs on business which is attached. 



Guiding principles for EU Legislation
(PDF Document, 76.13 KB)

Languages: Education

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will continue to fund the Routes into Languages programme after the current funding expires in July 2016.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: This programme is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE). HEFCE will review its spending priorities (including for Routes into Languages) in the light of its grant settlement from Government, following the Spending Review.

Apprentices

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that apprenticeships deliver the skills that are needed in the current world of work.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We are committed to delivering employer-led apprenticeship reforms, which continue to improve the ability of apprenticeships to provide the skills that employers need.Employers are designing high quality apprenticeships - including Degree Apprenticeships -that are more responsive to the needs of business. They are deciding the skills, knowledge and behaviour required in each apprenticeship and how those skills should be assessed at the end of the programme. Through this process employers can be confident that completing an apprenticeship signals a genuine ability to do the job.

Migrant Workers: Conditions of Employment

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited or paid less than the minimum wage.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The appointment of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, due shortly, will strengthen our ability to find and stop exploitative employers. We are currently consulting on proposals to create a new offence of an aggravated breach of labour market legislation and to widen the remit and strengthen the powers of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to enable it to tackle serious exploitation.Migrant workers who are entitled to other employment rights in UK law are also entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate relevant to their age. Anyone concerned about underpayment of the NMW should call Acas’s confidential helpline on 0300 123 1100 or visit http://www.acas.org.uk/nmw. HMRC will investigate every complaint it receives.

Department for International Development

ACP Countries: EU External Relations

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the prospects for future relations between the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states and the European Union.

Baroness Verma: The UK values the European Union’s long-standing relationship with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states, as currently governed by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA), which is due to expire in February 2020. The European Union (EU) and its Member States are in the early stages of considering the content and structure of this relationship after 2020. It will need to be rooted in the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development, including considering how to move beyond mainly aid implementation.The EU has recently launched a public consultation to explore this, aiming to take stock of the CPA’s performance and understand how the EU-ACP relationship could be improved in the future. The UK welcomes the public consultation, which can be found is attached for your convenience. 



EU's joint consultation paper
(PDF Document, 557.09 KB)

Ethiopia: Food Supply

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current food security situation in Ethiopia.

Baroness Verma: We are extremely concerned about the impact of the current drought on the food security situation in Ethiopia. A joint Government of Ethiopia and UN assessment is underway and we are in touch with our UN and Non-Governmental Organisation partners on the ground to determine the extent of need.In October, the Government of Ethiopia announced that about 8.2 million people are in need of emergency food aid, up from the 4.5 million estimated in August. The number of severely malnourished children under five years old admitted to therapeutic feeding programmes this year has increased notably.Britain has acted quickly and decisively by providing emergency support for 2.6 million people. This includes food aid for 2.1 million people for a month. The Government of Ethiopia has also committed its largest ever response to a drought. The international community will need to work hard with the Government of Ethiopia to prevent the crisis from worsening in the coming months.DFID is at the forefront of resilience work to reduce the impact of crises in developing countries. In Ethiopia, DFID’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP) has helped turn desert land into land that can be farmed again.

Horn of Africa: Food Supply

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of climate change on the food security situation in the Horn of Africa.

Baroness Verma: DFID is committed to supporting vulnerable people affected by food insecurity in the Horn of Africa and to supporting governments in the region to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of the climate on food security.Making a robust assessment of the impact of climate change in the horn of Africa is challenging due to data limitations., The UK is undertaking a range of research that seeks to strengthen our understanding of climate in the region which will in turn assist with improving our assessment of likely impacts and working to help improve the early warning tools. For instance in Ethiopia through our support to ClimDev, DFID has supported the strengthening of Ethiopia’s hydro-meteorological network enabling more accurate measurement and prediction of extreme weather and flooding.However, we know that the Horn of Africa is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and disaster resilience work is crucial in mitigating effects. In Ethiopia, DFID’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP) has helped turn desert land into land that can be farmed again. In Kenya, the Hunger Safety Net Programme has helped to protect household assets of the poorest people in Northern Kenya and can scale up to protect those at risk from droughts and floods. This helps families recover more quickly and get back on their feet. DFID is at the forefront of resilience work to prevent and reduce the impact of crises in developing countries.

Department for Education

Languages: Teachers

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of recording and monitoring the number of teachers leaving the profession centrally alongside the number of new recruits already collected on the planning of teacher supply in modern foreign languages; and whether they plan to begin recording and monitoring those figures.

Lord Nash: The numbers of teachers leaving and joining the profession in each secondary subject, including Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), are already factors in the department’s modelling of future demand for secondary teachers.The department uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate the demand for the number of qualified teachers within state-funded schools in England each year using a range of assumptions, including projections for the numbers of pupils in schools and the number of teachers expected to leave the sector.To estimate the demand for teachers in specific secondary subjects, the TSM uses the latest data on secondary subject take-up, defined by hours taught, and projected pupil numbers at Key Stages 3 to 5. It also takes into account the different age and gender demographics of current teachers for the different secondary subjects, plus the historical rates at which teachers left the profession by subject group. For modelling purposes, the leaver rates are estimated separately by age and gender groups, and in each case vary by groups of subjects.

Ministry of Justice

Courts: Fines

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 4 November (HL3116), what was the total value of court-ordered fines that were cancelled in 2014–15.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of victims’ surcharges (1) imposed, (2) collected, (3) cancelled, and (4) outstanding, for (a) adults, (b) youths, and (c) organisations, in each financial year since 2010.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times the victims’ surcharge was (1) imposed, (2) collected, (3) cancelled, and (4) outstanding, for people receiving (a) a conditional discharge, (b) a fine, (c) a suspended sentence, (d) a community sentence, and (e) a custodial sentence, in each financial year since 2010.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of court-ordered fines that were (1) issued, (2) collected, and (3) cancelled, in each financial year since 2010.

Lord Faulks: The tables below, published in the HMCTS Trust Statement, show the value of fines and victim surcharge orders imposed, collected and cancelled since April 2011.It is not possible to break the value of victims’ surcharge imposed, collected and cancelled down into the categories of adults, youths and organisations nor report on how many times the victims’ surcharge was imposed, collected and cancelled against various sentences; to do so would incur disproportionate costs as these figures can only be identified by carrying out a manual check of all live and closed financial imposition accounts.FinesFines ImposedValue of fines collected in the same year of impositionValue of fines cancelled in the same year of imposition (administrative and legal cancellations) 1Total value of fines collected regardless of imposition date 2Total value of fines administratively cancelled regardless of imposition date 3Total value of fines legally cancelled regardless of imposition date 32010/11Data is only available in this format from April 2011 onwards 4£35,872,328£45,552,9422011/12£227,342,345£79,148,756£21,301,334£155,795,149£44,738,459£45,772,5022012/13£237,280,254£82,277,185£24,728,112£156,283,468£53,663,354£44,516,7572013/14£233,012,097£79,524,734£25,864,207£156,063,245£68,213,510£44,781,6122014/15£250,740,040£84,688,512£22,863,892£161,930,070£45,344,786£41,110,741Victim SurchargeVictim surcharge imposedValue of victim surcharge collected in the same year of impositionValue of victim surcharge cancelled in the same year of imposition (administrative and legal cancellations) 1Total value of victim surcharge collected regardless of imposition date 2Total value of victim surcharge administratively cancelled regardless of imposition date 3Total value of victim surcharge legally cancelled regardless of imposition date 32010/11Data is only available in this format from April 2011 onwards 4£501,887£473,1162011/12£12,199,956£6,810,532£645,381£10,281,567£1,355,514£1,163,0172012/13£15,508,307£7,607,886£888,027£10,517,641£1,605,519£1,384,7792013/14£33,726,535£15,343,460£2,265,389£19,548,368£2,395,662£2,937,9822014/15£38,631,424£17,302,260£2,350,532£24,569,735£2,362,914£3,711,748Data notes:1. The values of fines and victim surcharge that were cancelled in the same year of Imposition cannot be broken down into administrative and legal cancellations.2. The ‘total value of fines collected in a year’ includes the ‘value of fines collected in the same year of imposition’.3. The figures representing the total value of fines and victim surcharge administratively cancelled both include the values of those impositions administratively cancelled in the same year of imposition. Impositions are only administratively cancelled in accordance with a strict criteria. Legal cancellations occur after the case has been reconsidered by a Judge or Magistrate.4. The reporting functionality from which this data has been extracted has only been in existence since April 2011 and it is not possible to break the data for 2010 down in the same format.

Prisons: Employment

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Governmenthow many hours on average each prisoner spent per week (1) in a cell, and (2) on purposeful activity, in (a) each prison, (b) each category of prison, and (c) the entire prison estate, in each year since 2010.

Lord Faulks: Time unlocked and purposeful activity were two of the National Offender Management Service’s performance indicators for prisons until 2011/2012. These indicators were discontinued from the start of 2012/13. However, the figures requested are provided for 2010/11 and 2011/12 in the tables below.Tables 1 and 2 cover time spent in cell. Average time in cell is measured per weekday and this information is provided by individual prison establishment, by prison category and across the prison estate. The figures for time in cell are derived from information collected on the average hours per weekday that prisoners are unlocked and using these to estimate hours spent locked in cell. It should be noted that time in cell includes time when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.Tables 3 and 4 show the reported average hours of purposeful activity per prisoner per week at establishment level, for each category of prison and across the prison estateThese figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.Table 1: Time in Cell by Prison Establishment: Average Hours per Prisoner per Week DayEstablishment Name2010-112011-12Acklington15.5-Albany--Altcourse11.112.6Ashfield14.014.1Ashwell14.5-Askham Grange8.08.0Aylesbury16.816.6Bedford14.314.4Belmarsh15.924.0Birmingham16.216.1Blantyre House6.06.0Blundeston14.012.4Brinsford14.124.0Bristol15.115.7Brixton17.417.4Bronzefield14.114.1Buckley Hall15.215.4Bullingdon16.115.6Bullwood Hall10.310.1Camp Hill--Canterbury13.713.3Cardiff15.916.7Castington16.6-Channings Wood15.315.4Chelmsford14.714.4Coldingley14.414.6Cookham Wood15.214.3Dartmoor13.613.4Deerbolt17.517.2Doncaster13.411.6Dorchester18.218.5Dovegate14.814.3Dover11.411.4Downview13.814.2Drake Hall5.36.5Durham16.116.2East Sutton Park7.07.0Eastwood Park13.115.0Edmunds Hill10.2-Elmley--Erlestoke14.314.4Everthorpe16.716.7Exeter16.215.9Featherstone13.114.5Feltham16.317.1Ford11.511.5Forest Bank13.713.7Foston Hall12.514.5Frankland15.114.9Full Sutton15.115.0Garth15.115.3Gartree15.215.5Glen Parva16.417.0Gloucester15.616.1Grendon10.310.3Guys Marsh13.613.7Haslar12.012.0Haverigg9.29.7Hewell13.313.0High Down16.216.5Highpoint14.513.3Hindley13.913.7Hollesley Bay8.08.0Holloway15.015.0Holme House16.115.4Hull16.016.1Huntercombe13.514.1Isis-17.4Isle of Wight14.814.5Kennet13.813.7Kingston14.014.3Kirkham9.29.2Kirklevington5.05.0Lancaster14.9-Lancaster Farms16.316.4Latchmere House0.01.9Leeds16.213.8Leicester16.516.1Lewes15.315.0Leyhill8.08.0Lincoln17.016.2Lindholme15.715.9Littlehey16.315.1Liverpool15.715.8Long Lartin14.715.7Low Newton13.413.5Lowdham Grange13.212.9Maidstone15.215.0Manchester13.813.4Moorland12.711.8Morton Hall10.424.0Mount13.113.0New Hall14.815.7North Sea Camp6.56.5Northallerton15.715.0Northumberland-15.6Norwich15.215.8Nottingham16.216.2Onley14.814.4Parc14.614.9Parkhurst--Pentonville16.316.6Peterborough14.714.8Portland15.115.4Preston15.715.7Ranby14.314.6Reading15.114.4Risley15.015.0Rochester14.314.0Rye Hill14.814.3Send12.112.1Sheppey Cluster15.015.2Shepton Mallet14.614.5Shrewsbury15.415.4Stafford16.616.4Standford Hill--Stocken16.116.5Stoke Heath16.215.5Styal10.511.5Sudbury5.05.0Swaleside--Swansea15.515.4Swinfen Hall16.217.8Thorn Cross9.010.2Usk\Prescoed11.611.4Verne9.09.1Wakefield14.914.8Wandsworth17.416.7Warren Hill14.615.2Wayland12.611.7Wealstun16.515.7Wellingborough14.215.0Werrington14.314.8Wetherby14.214.4Whatton14.213.6Whitemoor15.515.2Winchester15.016.5Wolds12.112.0Woodhill15.014.5Wormwood Scrubs16.816.9Wymott15.515.5National Total14.514.5'-' Data not availableTable 2: Time in Cell by Prison Category: Average Hours per Prisoner per Week DayCategory2010-112011-12Category B14.113.9Category C14.214.1Dispersal1515.1Female closed12.813.6Female local13.514.1Female open7.67.6Male closed young offender15.816.2Male juvenile14.314.4Male local15.515.4Male open8.18.1Male open young offender910.2Semi open66.2Cluster14.514.5National Total14.514.5Note: In the above table prisons are categorised according to their predominant function, though some establishments will have more than one function.Table 3: Average number of hours per prisoner per week in purposeful activity by establishmentEstablishment name2010/112011/12Acklington20.7-Albany24.224.6Altcourse35.233.7Ashfield29.126.7Ashwell29.1-Askham Grange40.740.0Aylesbury20.721.9Bedford19.218.5Belmarsh18.518.4Birmingham21.321.3Blantyre House52.152.2Blundeston25.524.6Brinsford28.029.9Bristol25.222.9Brixton17.517.7Bronzefield26.626.9Buckley Hall27.026.5Bullingdon22.620.9Bullwood Hall24.524.0Bure21.224.6Camp Hill22.423.7Canterbury19.721.6Cardiff22.620.0Castington22.3-Channings Wood24.023.7Chelmsford25.826.5Coldingley25.625.7Cookham Wood23.626.8Dartmoor24.123.1Deerbolt21.222.8Doncaster23.422.1Dorchester17.717.2Dovegate31.833.3Dover--Downview31.428.5Drake Hall34.436.0Durham16.918.2East Sutton Park45.045.3Eastwood Park21.522.4Edmunds Hill24.8-Elmley17.117.5Erlestoke24.624.8Everthorpe22.522.7Exeter17.918.9Featherstone26.425.7Feltham22.220.3Ford41.641.8Forest Bank25.725.3Foston Hall30.929.7Frankland19.720.8Full Sutton20.521.1Garth25.926.2Gartree26.428.7Glen Parva20.720.8Gloucester20.719.5Grendon31.933.7Guys Marsh24.723.8Haslar--Hatfield--Haverigg27.625.3Hewell25.625.2High Down19.218.6Highpoint25.10.0Hindley30.933.4Hollesley Bay43.143.3Holloway23.121.8Holme House18.922.0Hull19.819.6Huntercombe27.028.4Kennet25.625.7Kingston29.227.3Kirkham47.149.3Kirklevington53.051.5Lancaster26.7-Lancaster Farms26.927.0Latchmere House56.556.5Leeds18.618.9Leicester18.818.9Lewes23.020.3Leyhill39.540.0Lincoln19.318.9Lindholme21.421.5Littlehey20.622.5Liverpool20.220.8Long Lartin20.021.4Low Newton23.823.7Lowdham Grange27.327.9Maidstone25.125.9Manchester23.824.7Moorland29.031.1Morton Hall30.90.0Mount24.424.8New Hall27.225.0North Sea Camp45.943.1Northallerton23.723.5Northumberland-20.0Norwich24.823.9Nottingham26.327.0Onley25.426.0Parc26.826.8Parkhurst21.322.9Pentonville18.118.4Peterborough--Portland27.6-Preston20.720.6Ranby23.924.0Reading22.422.5Risley27.127.2Rochester22.022.3Rye Hill27.928.7Send30.631.2Shepton Mallet23.224.0Shrewsbury25.827.1Stafford26.226.6Standford Hill36.740.1Stocken25.724.8Stoke Heath25.628.1Styal24.723.1Sudbury43.645.8Swaleside24.326.6Swansea21.620.4Swinfen Hall26.323.8Thameside--Thorn Cross45.347.0Usk\Prescoed35.033.7Verne26.725.9Wakefield20.521.2Wandsworth17.217.6Warren Hill29.528.5Wayland25.225.8Wealstun20.421.7Wellingborough26.825.4Werrington30.827.6Wetherby29.727.5Whatton26.025.2Whitemoor24.125.5Winchester19.118.0Wolds24.424.1Woodhill21.220.0Wormwood Scrubs17.216.8Wymott25.726.2National Total24.724.9'-' Data not availableTable 4: Average number of hours per prisoner per week in purposeful activity by prison categoryCategory2010/112011/12Category B27.130.1Category C24.825.2Dispersal20.721.7Female closed30.929.5Female local24.723.8Female open42.542.3Male closed young offender24.224.0Male juvenile28.927.5Male local21.421.4Male open42.544.2Male open young offender45.347.0Semi open43.945.6Cluster25.624.7National Total24.724.9Note: In the above table prisons are categorised according to their predominant function, though some establishments will have more than one function.

Maternity Leave: Discrimination

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the research on maternity discrimination, Pregnancy and Maternity – Related Discrimination and Disadvantage: First Findings, estimating that up to 54,000 mothers leave their jobs each year because of maternity discrimination, what plans they have to exempt maternity discrimination cases from employment tribunal fees.

Lord Faulks: For those who bring discrimination cases, we have made sure fee waivers are available for those who cannot afford to pay. The Government is currently carrying out a post-implementation review of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals. The review will report in due course and we will consult on any proposals for change in the usual way.

Ministry of Defence

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Procurement

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the 20 new "Protector" drones to be procured under the Scavenger Programme will be the General Atomics certifiable Predator B or any other model or variant.

Earl Howe: No decision has yet been made on the choice of platform to meet the Protector (formerly Scavenger) requirement. This will be determined as part of the main investment decision, which is scheduled for 2016.

Syria: Military Intervention

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what domestic legislation they consider to be relevant to the lethal operation of Reaper drones in Syria from RAF Waddington.

Earl Howe: The UK conducts all its military operations in accordance with international law (including International Humanitarian Law) and members of HM Armed Forces are subject to the criminal law of England and Wales at all times.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many referrals to the RAF mental health care system from members of 13 and 39 squadrons there have been each month over the last year.

Earl Howe: During Financial Year 2014-15, there were fewer than five Regular Royal Air Force personnel from 13 Squadron or 39 Squadron who were seen for an initial assessment at Ministry of Defence Specialist Mental Health Services.

Defence Medical Services

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of morale in the Defence Medical Services.

Earl Howe: The Defence Medical Services (DMS) Continuous Attitude Survey (CAS) was completed in June 2015 and contained specific questions about morale.The survey included a question to personnel asking "What is the level of morale like where you work?" 35% of respondents reported that the level of morale is either 'high' or 'very high' with 34% reporting it as 'neutral'.The results of the CAS have been considered by the Surgeon General and DMS Board.

Defence Medical Services

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase staff retention in the Defence Medical Services.

Earl Howe: The Defence Medical Services (DMS) takes very seriously the issue of retention and ensures the views expressed by personnel in exit interviews, conducted when they leave the Service, inform policy in this area.There are no Financial Retention Incentives for personnel within the DMS as a whole. However, the Royal Navy has introduced Financial Retention Incentives for Submariner Medical Assistants based on their Return of Service. In addition, Medical and Dental Officers, Nurses (Officers and Other Ranks) and Veterinary Officers have bespoke pay spines which are seen as retention positive. Specialist Nurses are also able to claim Recruitment and Retention Pay.There are a number of non-remunerative incentives for DMS personnel and these include access to funded Continuing Professional Development courses; career opportunities outside the main clinical roles and responsibilities; inter trade transfers (predominantly from Combat Medical Technicians and Medical Assistants into an Allied Health Professional trade or Nursing) and the availability of post graduate training.

Defence Medical Services

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the relocation of families on staff retention in the Defence Medical Services.

Earl Howe: Based on the results of exit interviews, conducted when an individual leaves the Service, the majority of medical officers who choose to leave are citing stability as a reason.The Surgeon General is aware of the reasons why medical officers are choosing to leave and is working with the heads of the single Service medical branches to address this.

Defence Medical Services

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to increase the number of military doctors working less than full-time.

Earl Howe: While there are currently no plans to increase the numbers of military doctors, there are plans to provide a limited number of already serving regular medical officers the opportunity to be employed at reduced levels of obligation, for a number of days worked per year for a bounded period of time.Applicants will shortly be invited to participate in this Flexible Duties Employment Trial, which is due to commence in early 2016.

Department for Work and Pensions

Disadvantaged: Disability

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of social exclusion faced by people with disabilities, as compared with people from minority ethnic backgrounds and LGBT people.

Baroness Altmann: The Equality and Human Rights Commission published its report "Is Britain Fairer?" on 30 October. The report looks at the progress made on equality and human rights over the period 2008-2013, and covers different groups including disabled people. Chapter 8 of the Report deals with "The Individual and Society" and Chapter 9 sets out the issues where, in the report's view, the most significant improvements are required. The report is attached at Annex AIn addition, in July 2013 the Coalition Government published the ‘Fulfilling Potential – Making It Happen’ disability strategy document. Alongside this, it published the ‘Fulfilling Potential Outcomes and Indicators Framework’ designed to monitor progress towards the vision of the Fulfilling Potential strategy. The framework includes measures relating to a number of themes including: education; employment; income; health and wellbeing; choice and control; and inclusive communities. Within inclusive communities, the indicators look at social participation, friends and family and attitudes towards disabled people. An update to the framework was published in September 2014 and is attached at Annex B. A further update to this framework will be published later in November 2015.



Annex A
(PDF Document, 3.76 MB)




Annex B
(PDF Document, 370.25 KB)

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Cybercrime: Small Businesses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the measures small businesses can take to protect themselves from cyber-attacks.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: he Government is investing £860m in a comprehensive National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) to protect the UK from cyber attacks, tackle cyber crime and make the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online.Through the NCSP the Government is providing protective advice and guidance, such as the “Ten Steps to Cyber Security”, the Cyber Streetwise campaign, and “Get Safe Online”, and promoting the Cyber Essentials scheme, which sets out the basic technical controls to protect against common cyber attacks. The Government is also building partnerships with industry and sharing cyber threat information, and building law enforcement capabilities to tackle cyber crime, including the National Cyber Crime Unit within the National Crime Agency, and the new network of cyber crime officers within the Metropolitan Police Service and Regional Organised Crime Units.The Cyber Essentials scheme and Cyber Streetwise campaign are specifically designed to help protect small businesses. In addition, tailored guidance called “What you need to know about cyber security” is available for small businesses, as well as a free online training course for staff in small and medium-sized business.

Athletics: Drugs

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the President of the International Association of Athletics Federations in his condemnation of alleged state-sponsored doping within Russian athletics.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: This is a difficult time for the world of sport and Russian athletics, but it is essential that robust steps are taken to ensure athletics regains its integrity. Lord Coe has been clear that his priority is to rebuild trust in athletics.

Museums and Galleries: Fees and Charges

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reintroduce charges for museum entry in the next year.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: This Government is committed to maintaining free admission to the permanent collections of major museums and galleries, as set out in the 2015 Conservative Party general election manifesto.

Home Office

Visas

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current waiting time for processing of (1) Spouse Visas, (2) Visitor Visas, (3) Student Visas and (4) Entrepreneur Visas.

Lord Bates: The average global processing time for the period July 2014 to June 2015 and the most recent data – which covers the month of June 2015 - on global processing times for spouse, visitor, student and entrepreneur visas are set out in the table below.TypeCategoryAverage processing time (working days) - (Jun-15)Average processing time  (working days) - (Jul-14 to Jun-15)Non-SettlementVisit77Non-SettlementStudent68Non-SettlementT1 Entrepreneur1111SettlementSpouse3554

Visas

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the granting of United Kingdom visas is regulated to ensure that they are meeting their stated targets in relation to visas from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and China.

Lord Bates: Performance against service standards for visa processing is routinely monitored through internal performance management processes, and is also subject to external scrutiny from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and the Home Affairs Select Committee. Data on how UKVI is performing against its processing targets is published here: https://visa-processingtimes.homeoffice.gov.uk/y

Visas

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which categories of United Kingdom visa application processes are outsourced; which companies have been given the right to process those applications; and whether those companies have been provided with guidance in relation to religious and cultural sensitivities.

Lord Bates: UKVI has two suppliers, VFS and Teleperformance, who are contracted to run UK Visa Application Centres (VACs) overseas. Their role is to capture visa applicants’ biometrics and forward their visa application documentation to the Home Office run Decision Making Centres (DMCs). Once Home Office staff have decided an application, the decision is returned to the customer via the suppliers. The suppliers have no role in visa decision making.VACs are generally staffed and managed by local nationals, so staff should be aware of any local cultural and religious sensitivities. Where local sensitivities require special arrangements, such as ensuring that there are female as well as male security guards or privacy when capturing biometrics, UKVI ensure the arrangements are in place by setting out requirements in the contract, providing guidance and training and through inspection visits.

Asylum: Finance

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider increasing the weekly Azure card allowance to include the costs of travel.

Lord Bates: There are no plans to increase the allowance provided on the Azure card. Travel assistance is provided separately and information on how to apply for it is published on the GOV.UK website.

Children in Care: Kent

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 22 September (HL1905), what is their latest assessment of the financial costs faced by Kent County Council in supporting asylum-seeking children, and what additional funding they are offering that council to help it to do so.

Lord Bates: The Government recognises the outstanding work of Kent County Council in caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC). Home Office officials have met Kent officers to understand the additional financial pressures they facing as a result of the high numbers of UASC in their care and we continue to work through the detail. The Immigration Minister has met the Leader of Kent County Council to discuss the situation.As well as working with Kent, we believe a national response is required. We are working closely with the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Children’s Services to finalise plans for a new scheme to disperse unaccompanied child asylum seekers to the care of other local authorities.

Asylum: Calais

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are being put in place, in co-operation with the government of France, to support asylum seekers in Calais this winter.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 September (HL1909), what assessment they have made of the impact of the large number of migrants camped at Calais on the United Kingdom's relationship with France.

Lord Bates: The French Government is responsible for the care of migrants in Calais, including support over the winter. However, both governments are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. One aspect of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August committed the UK to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.The UK and French Governments are unified in their response to these migratory pressures and both governments recognise the importance of close partnership and collaboration.

Asylum: Deportation

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 13 October (HL2299), why they do not hold information on the cost of deportations.

Lord Bates: The Home Office has published information on the average cost of detention and removal but this is not broken down by initial application type, and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. Further information can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/costs-involved-in-detaining-and-removing-illegal-migrants

HM Treasury

Credit Cards: Debts

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to work with credit card companies to support customers who are struggling with persistent debt.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, which includes the credit card sector. Consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.The FCA is currently undertaking a thorough review of the credit card market through its ‘credit card market study’. The market study is investigating three areas, one of which is the extent of unaffordable credit card debt. On the 3rd November 2015 the FCA published its interim report which found that the market was working reasonably well for most customers. However, the FCA expressed concern about the scale of potentially problematic debt in this sector and the incentives for firms to manage this.The interim report also included the FCA’s early thinking on potential remedies which include measures to give consumers more control over their credit limits, measures to encourage customers to pay off debt quicker when they can afford to, and proposals that firms do more to identify earlier those consumers who may be struggling to repay and take action to help them manage their repayments. The FCA is currently asking for feedback on the findings and potential remedies.The Government is looking forward to the full report in the spring and would encourage interested parties to give their views to the FCA to assist it in addressing the issues it has identified.

Negative Equity

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to help home owners in negative equity.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: If homeowners are in negative equity, or worried about meeting payments in the future, it is vital to make early contact with their lender.There are a number of organisations available that provide free, impartial advice on money and debt management, including the Money Advice Service, which Government has set up to promote understanding of Financial Systems.The Government is working to mitigate the impact of Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) activity on those in negative equity and following consultation government released a response document on the 29th October, which is available on the gov.uk website.

Trade

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the OECD global trade outlook and its recommendation that governments should step up investment to support growth.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The latest OECD Economic Outlook forecasts the UK to be the joint fastest growing major advanced economy in 2015. The OECD have revised down the forecast for both world trade growth and global GDP growth in 2015 and 2016. This demonstrates the need to continue to fix the economy to ensure the UK can deal with risks from abroad.The government remains committed to encouraging long-term investment and promoting a dynamic economy, and recently set out comprehensive reforms to support productivity growth in “Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation”.

Balance of Trade

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current account deficit in trade.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The current account deficit was 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2014. The trade balance has been broadly stable, while the UK’s net investment income has fallen, as weakness in the euro area has depressed the returns on the UK’s holding of foreign direct investment. Figures for Q2 2015 show that the deficit has narrowed, driven by an improvement in the trade and investment income balances. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts a narrowing of the current account deficit over the forecast period.

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why their health impact assessments relating to reducing and freezing alcohol duties do not refer to consultations with Public Health England and NHS England.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Treasury Ministers and officials discuss a variety of issues with a range of stakeholder throughout the year, including in the run up to Budget.The Government published its assessment of the impacts of the alcohol duty change in the Tax Information and Impact Notes published alongside the March 2015 Budget document. This information is available on the gov.uk website.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Energy: Subsidies

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current cost per kilowatt hour of public subsidies for (1) oil, (2) gas, (3) coal, (4) nuclear, and (5) wind solar, power stations.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Government currently does not provide subsidies to oil, gas, coal or nuclear power stations.The ring fence tax regime for oil and gas does include allowances, such as the Investment Allowance, which are designed to reduce the impact of the supplementary charge ensuring otherwise economic investment is not uncommercial. Upstream companies continue to pay Ring Fence Corporation Tax at a rate of 30% (which is higher than the 20% mainstream rate of Corporation Tax rate paid by other sectors).Top up payments provided through Contract for Difference (CfD) and Capacity Market (CM) are expected to come online in the next decade and therefore do not count towards current levels of subsidy. Please note that these payments have been awarded on a competitive basis and are technology neutral.In relation to successful technologies of the Capacity Market auction, such as coal, gas, and existing nuclear, payments for 2018/19 have been awarded at £19.40/kW. CM payments are to provide revenue certainty to capacity providers that in a perfectly functioning energy market and absence of a CM would have accrued to them in any case. Therefore CM payments are certainty over future revenues rather than subsidy as such.In relation to the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear CfD is expected to come online at the start of the next decade. The strike price for Hinkley Point C was agreed and announced in 2013. It has been set at £92.50/MWh fully indexed to the Consumer Price Index.If the final investment decision is taken on Sizewell C, the Strike Price for Hinkley Point C will be reduced to £89.50/MWh, on the assumption that EDF will be able to share first of a kind costs of EPR reactors across Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C sites.Wind and solar technologies are currently subsidised through the Renewables Obligation and the Feed-in-Tariff, which respectively support large scale and small scale renewable generation. In Northern Ireland there is no Feed-in-Tariff and the Renewables Obligation subsidises both large and small scale renewable generation.The current solar PV and wind subsidy levels for the Renewables Obligation (RO) are set out in the table below. These figures reflect the current 2015/16 banding levels, they are based on a Buy-out price of £44.33 per RO certificate, and are expressed in 15/16 prices.RO (Great Britain) : Solar PVInstallationSubsidy (p/kWh)Ground Mounted >1MW5.8Building Mounted >1MW6.6RO (Northern Ireland) : Solar PVInstallationSubsidy (p/kWh)17.750kW-250kW8.9>250kW6.6RO (Great Britain) : WindInstallationSubsidy (p/kWh)Onshore > 5MW4.0Offshore >5MW8.4RO (Northern Ireland) : WindInstallationSubsidy (p/kWh)Onshore17.7Onshore 50kW-250kW4.4Onshore >250kW4.0Offshore >250kW8.4The current solar PV and wind subsidy levels for the Feed-in-Tariff are set out in the table below.FIT : Solar PVFIT: Wind OnshoreInstallationSubsidy (p/kWh)InstallationSubsidy (p/kWh)12.513.74-50kW11.3100–500kW10.950-150kW9.6500–1,500kW5.9150-250kW9.21,500-5,000kW2.5250-5000kW5.9Stand alone4.3The figures are taken directly from the generation tariffs reported in Ofgem’s FIT Tariff Tables available on the attached links, and are expressed in 15/16 prices.Please note that we are proposing to revise the subsidy levels for solar PV under both the FIT and the RO, and for wind under the RO. Awarded Contracts for Difference for solar PV and wind will come into place in the next few years.



FIT payment rate table for publication 1 Oct 2015
(PDF Document, 278.73 KB)




FIT non-PV tariff table 1 Oct 2015
(PDF Document, 249.87 KB)

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many wind farms there are in United Kingdom waters off the coast of England, and where they are situated.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: There are a total of 23 offshore wind farms off the coast of England with a combined installed capacity of 4181MW. These wind farms are located:-Offshore Wind FarmMW CapacityRegionInner Dowsing108.0East MidlandsLincs270.0East MidlandsLynn86.4East MidlandsGunfleet Sands Demo12.0East of EnglandGunfleet Sands II64.8East of EnglandGunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Scheme108.0East of EnglandScroby Sands60.0East of EnglandGreater Gabbard Wind Farm504.0East of EnglandSheringham Shoal317.0East of EnglandTeeside Offshore Wind Farm62.1North EastBlyth Offshore4.0North EastBurbo Bank90.0North WestWalney 1183.6North WestWalney 2183.6North WestBarrow90.0North WestWest of Duddon Sands389.0North WestOrmonde Offshore150.0North WestKentish Flats90.0South EastThanet300.0South EastKentish Flats Extension49.5South EastLondon Array630.0South EastHumber Gateway219.0Yorkshire and HumberWestermost Rough210.0Yorkshire and Humber

Wind Power

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many onshore wind farms there are in England.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The planning status of all renewable electricity projects with an installed capacity of 1MW or more can be found within the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD).Currently there are 175 fully operational wind farms (sites with two turbines or more) in England. These windfarms have a total installed capacity of 2019.2MW.



Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD)
(Excel SpreadSheet, 1.72 MB)

Nuclear Power

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the potential benefits to the Northern Powerhouse of the Candu Energy option for the reuse of the United Kingdom’s stockpile of plutonium.

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the role that Candu Energy can play in the development of United Kingdom infrastructure and in creating new supply-chain jobs in the United Kingdom’s nuclear sector.

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the economic development of the north of England under Candu Energy’s plans for the reuse of the United Kingdom’s plutonium stockpile and closure of nuclear sites.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is in the process of submitting advice to DECC, which together with other sources of information and evidence, will enable DECC to consider options for the disposition of plutonium. There are a number of options for dispositioning of plutonium that will be considered, including the potential option presented by Candu. A decision will be made by ministers in due course. The Government is confident that its preferred option for plutonium disposition will be implemented safely and securely, and in a way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money.

Nuclear Power

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to attracting further Canadian inward investment into the United Kingdom as a result of closer nuclear co-operation.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Canada in June 2015 on closer cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy. Officials are taking forward work to understand respective nuclear frameworks and the scope for inward investment.

Electricity Generation

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2 November (HL3058), whether the measures taken to counter the loss of generating capacity resulting from the closure of coal fired power stations will include (1) the use of small diesel generators, and (2) the closure or interruption of industrial production by industry to maintain security of supply during the coming winter; and what is their estimate of the extra costs of those measures to energy consumers and taxpayers.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The operators of Ferrybridge and Longannet power plants have announced plans to cease generation in 2016 while the operator of Eggborough plant is currently consulting staff on possible closure. These announcements relate to closures from March 2016 and do not affect security of supply this winter.Our priority is to ensure that British families and business have access to secure and affordable energy supplies that they can rely on. Since 2014 National Grid have had the ability to procure a Contingency Balancing Reserve (CBR), which consists of the Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR), where existing power stations stand by ready to generate additional electricity and the Demand Side Balancing Reserve (DSBR) where companies bid for contracts with National Grid to receive payments in return for reducing their electricity usage times of peak demand should National Grid so require. National Grid and Ofgem agree that we should retain the ability to procure CBR for the next two winters. Government supports this position and we expect confirmation later this month following an Ofgem consultation.Organisations contracted under DSBR can reduce their use of grid electricity in many ways while still remaining in operation. For example, an industrial customer could switch to a back-up generator or a supermarket chain might raise the temperature slightly on its refrigerators for a short time, using less energy but maintaining safe refrigeration levels.National Grid’s CBR is tendered competitively keeping procurement at the lowest possible cost to consumers, whilst ensuring electricity security. The additional reserve capacity that National Grid has purchased for 2015/16 represents less than 50p a year on the average annual consumer bill.From winter 2018/19, the Capacity Market will take over as the long term solution for security of supply. The Capacity Market is a key part of our reform of the electricity market and it will drive new investment in gas and demand side capacity to help keep the lights on, as well as getting the best out of our existing power stations as we transition to a low carbon electricity future. Small-scale flexible generation such as diesel can also bid into the Capacity Market – generation that can turn on quickly has a small but important role to play in securing our electricity system. It is typically run for short periods to meet peaks of demand or local system constraints, so emission impacts can be relatively limited.

Cabinet Office

UK Trade with EU

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of UK exports are to the EU, excluding exports that go to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp before being transited to locations outside the EU.

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the ONS Balance of Payments includes in its estimate of UK exports to the EU the wings manufactured in the UK for Airbus that are later exported outside the EU.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



ONS attachment
(PDF Document, 163.13 KB)

Kids Company

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the value for money of the estimated £46 million of public funds provided to Kids Company over the last 15 years.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Kids Company delivered important work for vulnerable young people and received support from successive governments over a 15 year period, beginning in 2002.